Three Days
by hillbillygirl11
Summary: "His heart began to pound and the arc reactor started getting hot. It glowed bright through his t-shirt and he looked down at it. "That isn't supposed to happen," he mumbled. Then he noticed something very bad. Instead of the circular pattern that was normally on the center of the arc, there was a number three." ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

"Pepper!"

"No, just don't talk to me!" Pepper yelled over her shoulder as she made her way to the door, snatching her Blackberry off the couch in the way.

"Peps, what's wrong?" Tony stark objected as he followed his irate girlfriend/employee/general-manager-of-his-life across his living room.

"What's wrong?" She shrieked, spinning back around and nearly causing him to run into her. "Three days ago you flew off in that damn suit, and since then not a single phone call, email, not even a text! I was starting to think you were dead and now you just show up with a smile and not a scratch on you, expecting me to-to-"

She cut herself off and turned, running away, slamming the door behind her.

Tony stood there bewildered. Three days? It hadn't been three days, it was barely five minutes since he flew away from Stark Tower. The distress signal JARVIS had picked up had disappeared and he had come back immediately. What was going on?

**AN: The plot bunnies were bugging me with this little . . . ficlet I guess. But now I'm sorta stuck on it. If you have any ideas on what should happen next leave a review and tell me! I'd really appreciate it! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Pepper Potts was furious. She hadn't been this mad in a long time, in fact she couldn't remember the last time she'd been this angry.

Tony Stark was absolutely, completely, and totally impossible. Three days. Three days! This was like Afghanistan all over again, only worse because this time she and Tony were so much closer. They were a couple now, and if something happened to him she knew she wouldn't' get over it this time.

The only person who knew for sure he had been missing was Rhodey, but the press was starting to catch on. After all, he was Tony Stark, he loved the spotlight! And for a bigshot like him to not be _anywhere_ on the radar for three days, well they had already been starting to run stories titled "Stark Is MIA" and "Where Is Tony Stark?" It was Pepper's worst nightmare.

And then he had the nerve to just fly up to the building in that _damn_ suit and act like nothing was wrong! She knew he was irresponsible but this was just too much.

Pepper punched the button for the lobby of the building and began dialing Rhodey's number furiously. He picked up a moment later and she said, "Rhodey? He's back."


	3. Chapter 3

Tony was still standing there, staring at the door that Pepper had slammed behind her. His genius mind was reeling, trying to find out exactly what was going on. Three days. What was the significance of three days?

He started to pace, thinking furiously. _Earth is the third planet from the sun, its a prime number . . . _He started to go through all the facts he could think of about the number three. _Three sides of a triangle, three dimensions, unless you count time,_ He stopped pacing. A part of his brain had begun to buzz when he thought of time. _Three parts of time . . . past, present, and future._

His heart began to pound and the arc reactor started getting hot. It glowed bright through his t-shirt and he looked down at it. "That isn't supposed to happen," he mumbled. Then he noticed something very bad. Instead of the circular pattern that was normally on the center of the arc, there was a number three.

"Crap," he said, turning around and running to the elevator. Whatever had happened during that three days, someone had tampered with the arc, and if they had done anything major-

He was three steps away from the button when the doors dinged and opened, Pepper and Rhodey waiting inside. Rhodey looked pretty mad, and he started talking immediately, but Tony didn't hear him. All the sounds around him dimmed until all he could hear was his own heartbeat, and the blood rushing in his ears. A steady beat was drumming in the background, getting louder every second. 1, 2 . . .3. 1, 2 . . . 3. 1, 2 . . . 3.

"Tony?" Rhodey said. "Are you even listening to me?"

Tony swayed on the spot, sweat breaking out on his forehead and the arc reactor practically burning a hole in his chest. "Three," he whispered. Then his eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed.

**AN: Sorry for always giving you short chapters, but my inspiration for this keeps coming in little spurts! Please review, it makes me write faster! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Was the last chapter mysterious enough for you? ;) Anywho, here's chapter 4. Please review, it makes me write faster! **

"Good idea using the beat to bring him back. It seems to have worked."

"Seems to. That's the key. If it hasn't, we're dead meat."

Tony furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out where the voices were coming from. The beat of three had stopped and the arc had cooled down, but now he had another problem: he couldn't see anything.

Wait a minute…where his eyes closed? Why didn't he just open them?

"It was a pretty ingenious plan, you have to admit. Placing his mind in one of the duplicates and leaving his real body behind. I wouldn't have thought of it."

"Don't compliment his escape plan! Are you insane? If the Professor finds out he managed to get all the way back to Stark Tower before we caught him, he'll liquefy us for sure!"

That was a strange sentence, Tony thought. I should probably open my eyes now . . .

His eyelids fluttered for a moment as he struggled to lift them, then finally raised them high enough to see.

"Francis, he's awake!"

Tony blinked a few times, sure there was something wrong with his eyes. He seemed to be strapped to an upright table, and before him stood two men, one short and balding the other tall and graying, who were dressed in identical blue lab coats. They both held clipboards and were peering at him closely, as if trying to make sure he was really there.

"Wh-what?" He said, his voice sounding as though he hasn't spoken in days.

"He's awake, Francis! It worked!" The short man yelled happily, throwing up his hands and practically bouncing in excitement.

"Quiet, Jonathan! What if someone hears?" The gray one snapped, leaning even closer to Tony.

"Well, how's are favorite prisoner feeling today?" He asked, a bright smile on his face that was sort of creeping Tony out.

Tony's brow furrowed. "Prisoner? What are you talking about?"

The smile disappeared. "Oh no. I told you this would happen, Jonathan! Memory loss! Oh, what are we going to do?" He turned around, covering his face with his hands.

"Maybe it's not that bad, Francis." The short one, Jonathan, said leaning closer to Tony. "What's your name?"

"Tony Stark." Tony replied, trying to lean away but only succeeding in banging his head on the back of the thing he was strapped to.

"See, not so bad." Jonathan said. "What's fifty-thousand seven hundred thirty five divided by three?"

Tony thought for a moment then said "Sixteen-thousand nine hundred eleven point six repeating. Are we done now, cause I have a few questions for you too."

Jonathan ignored him and turned back to Francis. "See, no brain damage at all! He's perfectly fine!"

"Uh no, actually I'm not. Mind telling me exactly what you're talking about?" Tony yelled at them. He wasn't exactly in the mood to be polite, this felt too much like when he woke up in that cave in Afghanistan. He didn't know where he was, what was going on, or who these people were. At least in the cave he had found a friend in Yensen, here he seemed completely to be completely alone.

The one named Francis turned around and gave him that creepy smile again. "Of course Mr. Stark, I'd be glad to. You are in the wonderful care of the Professor."

"And who's the Professor?" He asked impatiently.

The smile got wider. "Believe me, Mr. Stark. You'll find out."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey guess what? I'm still alive! Hehe, sorry for the long wait. My life has been super busy, but now I'm back! Please enjoy! **

"Tony!" Pepper screeched, running forward to catch him as he fell. Rhodey beat her there though, and she watched helplessly as he lowered him down slowly.

"Call an ambulance," he ordered her, starting to look Tony over for signs of damage.

I nodded, digging through my purse for my phone. What felt like ages, but was probably only seconds later, I pulled it out and punched in 911, beginning to pace around the room.

"911, what is your emergency?" The person on the other end asked.

"It's Tony Stark, he just collapsed, we need an ambulance!" Pepper cried, her eyes locked on Tony's prone form while she paced.

"Ma'am, please calm down. Where is Mr. Stark?"

"Uh, Stark Tower, midtown Manhattan." Pepper pressed a fist to her forehead and closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart. "Please hurry," she whispered.

"Don't worry ma'am, an ambulance is already on the way. What is Mr. Stark's condition?"

Pepper looked over at Rhodey, who was carefully turning Tony over. "Hold on," he said into the phone, then crouched next to Rhodey and held it out to him. "They want to know his condition."

He gave her a look that nearly broke her heart, then took the phone gingerly and began to talk. "There's a heart beat, but its faint. His skin feels pretty cold, but I don't know the exact temperature. He's not responding at all..."

Pepper stood up and crossed the room, not wanting to listen anymore. She had just got Tony back, and confirmed that he was still alive. She had been able to get angry at him for the first time for disappearing. And now he just collapsed? What happened to him in those three days?

She didn't how long she stood there, staring out at the city, refusing to turn around. It wasn't until she heard the elevator ding and the clack of gurney wheels that she finally turned around.

Three paramedics were putting Tony up on the gurney, and Rhodey was holding the elevator open for them. His eyes met Pepper's and she crossed the room, joining them in the elevator.

Whatever had happened, she wasn't leaving Tony's side for anything.

**AN: Yeah, not the best chapter ever. Sorry it's so short! Review, and maybe the next one will be longer! *wink, wink, nudge, nudge***


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Okay, explaining time I guess. I know I have not updated this fic in over a month, and I definitely apologize for that. Sometime between New Years, midterms, and getting the flu twice I COMPLETELY spaced on it. Forgive me? :( **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man. If I did what would I be doing here? **

Tony was alone. Johnathon and Francis had disappeared ages ago, and the table he was strapped to had been lowered to a horizontal position, so all he could see was the grimy, cement block ceiling. He had tried yelling, screaming; tried to break his restraints. Nothing worked. And now? Now he was singing.

"I'm on the highway to hell!" Tony's voice was starting to crack, but he didn't care. It was better than the silence. "No stop signs, no speed limit, nobody's gonna slow me-" he heard a door slam and stopped singing abruptly, turning his head as far as he to the side. "Who's there?" he called.

"Who do you think, Mr. Stark?" the voice coming out of the shadows was one he hadn't heard before, and one he hoped he never heard again. It was a man's voice, and much deeper than any he had heard. And it was rough, with a gravelly quality to it.

"I'm guessing you're not here to offer me a drink?" Tony said sarcastically. The deep chuckle that followed sent chills down his spine, and it felt as if the room was now several degrees colder.

"So that's a no then?" he tried to sound confident, but his voice was already from the singing and the mysterious presence wasn't helping much.

"Mr. Stark, you never fail to fascinate me." the man said, and a moment later he stepped into the harsh light. He was heavily built, wearing an expensive Italian suit with his hair slicked back, and an atrocious purple tie. His large bulbous nose offset the rest of his face, which consisted of small slightly squinting eyes, and thin lips pressed together disapprovingly. Overall, he wasn't going to win any handsomest man awards.

"Is that good or bad?" Tony asked. The man shrugged.

"It depends," he said, walking closer to him slowly and stopping right above him. "Have you considered my offer?"

"Oh yeah. The offer. Considered it very uh...thoroughly." Tony wasn't sure why he was lying to this man, so he decided to blame it on the aftermath of whatever drugs Francis and Johnathon must have used on him to knock him out.

"And have you decided to accept?" he asked, clasping his large beefy hands behind his back.

"Um...yes?" Tony said, instantly regretting the words once they were out of his mouth.

"Marvelous!" the big man exclaimed. He walked around the table and began flipping switches and pressing buttons on a control panel Tony had noticed earlier.

"Whatcha doin over there?" Tony asked tentatively.

"Setting it up for you of course," the big man answered. "Can't have you operating on the old system now can we?"

"Oh no, uh, definitely not." Tony said, starting to pull at his restraints. Maybe while his back was turned...

"Professor!" Tony twisted his head around and saw the balding Johnathon bursting into the room, followed closely by his short friend Francis. "We had no idea you'd be back so earlier, we would have been here to mee-"

"Quite alright gentleman!" the man, who was apparently the mysterious 'Professor' Francis had mentioned earlier, exclaimed. "Mr. Stark here has just agreed to my proposition!"

"He has?" Francis squeaked, staring at Tony with wide eyes. Tony stared right back, trying desperately to think of what he might have accidentally agreed to.

"Yes! Let him go now, will you?"

"Ye-yes sir." Francis said, running forward an beginning to untie Tony's restraints.

"Sir, may I ask why-" Johnathon started, but the Professor cut him off.

"No, you may NOT ask John, because if you did it would ruin my good mood. You wouldn't want that now would you?"

"No, no, not at all. Sorry sir,"

A minute later Tony found himself being pulled to his feet by Francis, who gave him a look that Tony returned with a blank stare.

"Well then Mr. Stark, you'd beat get to work," the Professor said, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking at Tony expectantly.

"Uh, right," he said, rubbing his hands together nervously. "Although I will need uh..."

"Yes?" the Professor prompted.

"Um...privacy!" Tony said finally. "I'll need privacy to do my work."

The Professor nodded slowly, as if considering it. "Very well. I will have to leave Francis and John with you, though. They can assist you." Without giving Tony a chance to reply he turned around and left, leaving him standing there with no clue what he was supposed to be doing.

The door clanged shut and Tony felt a hand hit him on the ear.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, turning to face Francis.

"You idiot!" the short scientist hissed. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Uh, actually NO!" Tony yelled. "What the hell is going o-" he reached out to grab the old man but before his fingers could get more than a few inches from him he felt electricity course through his body, throwing him onto the ground.

"Oh, sorry about that," Francis said. "Personal safety field. I put it on in case the Professor...well...never mind." He pulled a contraption out of his pocket and pushed a few buttons, then offered Tony a hand, which he ignored.

"Mind answering my question you son of a-"

"No need for that," Johnathon said, causing Tony to round on him.

"I think there's plenty of need for it!" he yelled.

"Keep your voice down!" Francis hissed.

"Why? Why should I?" Tony snapped, albeit quieter this time.

He opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a loud rumbling behind them. Tony turned around and just stared for a moment as a section of the floor slid away, and a platform rose up. When he saw what was on it however, his jaw dropped.

"What the hell..." he whispered.

**AN: The song Tony was singing was Highway to Hell by ACDC, which is also not owned by me. **

**R&R **


	7. Hiatus notice

**AN: I've decided to stop teasing you guys. Given the infrequent updates and my complete lack of ideas, I am now putting this fic on hiatus. When I get a new idea I will definitely update, hopefully with a long chapter, but until then I'm just going to leave it alone. I've found before that if I try to force the words out it ends up as crap.**

**Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I will continue eventually, but don't hold your breath. **

**Till next time.**

**~Hillbillygirl11**


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